Abstract
BackgroundBreast cancer survivors (BCS) face several symptoms and are at higher risk of weight gain following diagnosis. Current literature shows that both exercise and diet play a key role in recovery of BCS. However, there is a gap between current guidelines and the real-world context. The aim of this article is to describe the process behind a free, not-for-profit community-based therapeutic exercise and education programme (TEEP) for BCS in the clinical setting.MethodsThe “Onco-Health Club” (OHC) consists of therapeutic exercise (TE) intervention aimed at ameliorating cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and improving QoL and physical function. TE is supplemented with nutritional education, providing information about the Mediterranean diet. To this end, patients are recruited from an oncologist and are referred to a physiotherapist and a nutritionist for baseline assessment. TEEP consists of a 3-month intervention, delivered twice a week in a group format with 1 h of TE and 30 min of nutritional education. BCS then have a final assessment and are advised to continue with a healthy lifestyle. Data about referral, compliance and assessment were collected.ResultsFrom May 2017 to February of 2020, a total of 158 patients were recruited from 8 cohorts and 142 initially started the OHC. From 119 that joined the program, 96 patients were considered to have finished it with good adherence (assistance > 80%). BCS significantly improved their QoL, as well as upper and lower limb’s function, and increased their level of physical activity. CRF tended to decrease (p = 0.005).ConclusionsThis study obtained data on recruitment, compliance, and possible limitations of these kinds of programmes in a real-world context. Further research is needed in order to optimize patient engagement and compliance, as well as to determine the transferability of these programmes in the clinical setting.Trial registrationNCT03879096, Registered 18th March 2019. Retrospectively registered.
Highlights
Breast cancer survivors (BCS) face several symptoms and are at higher risk of weight gain following diagnosis
BCS can benefit from the effect of therapeutic exercise (TE) interventions, such as ameliorating cancerrelated fatigue (CRF) and improving quality of life (QoL) and physical function
In the research field, individualized therapeutic exercise and education programme (TEEP) programmes such as the Onco-Health Club” (OHC) are recommended as part of standard care for cancer patients in order to improve outcomes and reduce cost burden [39]
Summary
Breast cancer survivors (BCS) face several symptoms and are at higher risk of weight gain following diagnosis. TE is supplemented with nutritional education, providing information about the Mediterranean diet To this end, patients are recruited from an oncologist and are referred to a physiotherapist and a nutritionist for baseline assessment. The death rate in patients with BC has decreased by 38% over recent decades [1], with current 5-year survival rates of 90% This translates into an increasing number of breast cancer survivors (BCS) worldwide [2]. Physically active BCS have a 30–50% reduced risk of disease recurrence and mortality [4] This is why current guidelines point to TE as a crucial intervention to be included as part of standard cancer care [5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
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